Stupefaction
by Iridium17
Summary: A misplaced soul into a fictional world. The moment the name of 'Malfoy' was tacked behind my name after my rebirth, canon had already been derailed and irreparably damaged. [Semi SI-OC] *undergoing revision*
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

My parents from Before were devastated when they heard that I was born with a birth defect. I had tumors in both my lungs. I don't think there was ever a time I breathed by myself without being sent into a fit of coughs.

My illness caused me to have difficulties in breathing, body-wracking coughs, and the occasional fevers. At first, as I grew up, my symptoms subsided slightly and I asked to go to school instead of being home-schooled. Naturally, my parents agreed, albeit reluctantly. They really loved me.

Thus, I set off for school at six years old. School was exciting and fun - much better than being constantly hooked to machines in the hospital or at home. However, I hated the adults that send me pitying glances or the children that flinch away from me when I cough or sneeze. Other than that, all was well and I was enjoying my time.

But of course life had to take it all away from me. My illness worsened after five years of school and didn't get any better. The doctors were nice -really- but dumb. Why wouldn't they operate on me? Useless(I wasn't aware my parents forbade it.) They told me I had at most four more years to live.

I hated it. I hated the feeling of being trapped and restricted. I wanted to be _free_. I wanted to _run_ and _play_ with the other children _._ To _live._ Not just survive. After I heard the news, I cried and wailed and screamed at the unfairness of life(it always sent me into coughing fits though but I don't know why I wouldn't stop.) Eventually, I accepted my fate and tried to live my life to the fullest. Heck, I even tried a few sips of wine and beer; let me tell you, it was disgusting. During the period of three years, I read many books recommended by friends, nurses, and family. One of them being Harry Potter, one of my personal favourites. Though I have to admit, the last few books were a tad boring...hehe.

And so I died on the eve of my birthday, February 18, at age fourteen. Here lies Anstace Hope, 18 February 2003 to 18 February 2017, blah blah blah. I guess I should have been worried about where I would go after I died but before the thought even crossed my mind, I felt like I was being sucked into a hole at high speed and-

My eyes closed and I did not wake for a long time.

* * *

I could vaguely hear voices. I kicked my legs out in an attempt to stretch and ended up hitting a...wall? I opened my eyes but all I found was darkness. Suddenly, the voices grew louder. I could barely make out a feminine voice exclaiming, "Lucius, come! The baby kicked!"

Umm...what? Kick? _Baby?_ Hold up everybody. Me, kicked, voice exclaimed- _baby?_ No she couldn't have been referring to me. I'm dead, aren't I?

"Yes Narcissa, that's wonderful. You need to be more careful. You're nearing your ninth month soon," said a man. I assume that man is 'Lucius' according to that woman called Narcissa. So I'm an unborn baby now? Wow okay. I can't wait to be potty trained again, woohoo. For some reason, the names of those people niggled in my mind but I can't seem to remember where I heard it from.

 _Narcissa and Lucius. Who are you?_ Those were my last thoughts before I dozed off.

* * *

I woke up abruptly. I could feel myself being squeezed with the area around me contracting and expanding. _What the freak?_ I panicked. What was happening? The motions went on for quite a long time before it stopped. Cold, biting air stung my body. I was used the the warm place that the moment the air hit me, I let out a whimper. I felt large hands carrying me around and some stuff poking and prodding at me. At this point, I reached my limit. I was scared and felt nauseous so naturally I went ahead and wailed as if my life depended on it. _Ah, how nice it is to actually scream and yell. It's like a dream come true!_

Those were my thoughts until a familiar feeling bubbled up in my chest and I erupted into a series of weak coughs.

Holy crabs.

* * *

 **Yayayayay! My first kinda serious story :D I have to admit, when I read my other story I cringed so hard. Hopefully this story wouldn't be so...bad. REASONABLE criticism is welcome. If you get what I mean :/**

 **For some reason I decided to start a new story. Sorry my Wattpad story. You gotta wait. Adieu~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine and will never be mine T~T (OC all mine tho. MINE)**

 **Thank you for all the reviews! It made my whole week :D**

 **Sadly, I'm an amateur 'writer'. *CoughlazytooCough***

 **Chapter Two**

I glared at the ceiling, cursing all the gods that put me into a new world with old memories and Mr and Mrs Weak Lungs, and their many children called Cough One, Cough Two, Cough Three, and the list goes on and on and on. STOP PLAYIN' WITH MY FEELINGS ALREADY!

But I'm only human, and I bleed when I fall down~

I'm only human, and I crash and I break down~

Ahem. But I digress. Apparently, from what I could hear - which wasn't much - my lungs were pretty weak and may result in coughs, shortness in breath, mild chest pains, hoarseness, and others. It would probably be nothing compared to what I had endured for fourteen years. No biggie.

In my opinion, weak lungs are better than huge lumps - see what I did there? ...No? - but my parents disagreed. Well, Mother started complaining about the doctors and Father got a constipated expression on his face.

Unfortunately, I was unable to fully appreciate the oh so wonderful way his face twisted into due to the fact I was only a few hours old baby and my eyesight was horrible. It doesn't really help that Father was kinda far away. Either way, I still had to suppress a giggle lest my new parents think I'm a demonic baby. My imagination is a bit wild at times. Sorry, not sorry.

I got bored after awhile. The adults decided to use strange, medical terms and I just couldn't wrap my head around them so I decided that the best time consuming task would be to go to sleep. Genius! Am I right? Falling asleep was really easy, seeing as I had a body of a newborn, and before I knew it I was in LaLa Land.

* * *

Even months after my rebirth, I deemed it unnecessary at the moment to find out where I am. I could just do it later even though I am pretty eager to know where and when I'm in but honestly, I'm too lazy and tired to do any of that now. It also helps that the fact I'm a baby right now, my days just pass by in a blur. Not only that, I have only just managed to convince myself entirely that I had been reborn. I mean, I know that my parents from Before had named me Anstace which means 'one who will be reborn', but for it to be taken literally is just crazy talk.

My parents from Before… I never really thought about them after being squeezed out a woman's womb(never want to do that again) and I don't know how I'm supposed to feel now. I will probably never see them again. Now that I'm actually thinking of them, I'm getting this ache in my chest and a sense of longing for them. My parents who had stayed by my side for fourteen long -yet short- years and who loved me unconditionally. Who didn't abandon me even when knowing my medical fees would cost a fortune and that I would probably die before getting married. I really missed them… They had done so much for me and I could never repay them. I couldn't even give them grandchildren like they had wan -Nope, not gonna go there.

I felt something warm slide down my chubby cheek. I'm crying, I realise. My vision became a blurred mess and the diamond-encrusted baby bed bell above me merged together, creating one big blob of colours. I start sniffling which in turn becomes a full-blown wail. And of course, I start hacking away in between my cries.

Not long after, two nannies come flusteredly into my nursery trying to figure out the cause of my cries. Finding nothing(that they know of), one of them left the room while the remaining nanny cradled me in her arms and rocked me gently to sleep.

* * *

My first clue that I was in the famous Wizarding World would be the time before I was born. I didn't know it at that time, but as several events happened in the house, I started to piece together information and lo and behold, I could not believe my eyeballs. The clues were jumping up at me and I had failed to grasp each and every one of them. That was until I was deemed worthy to be let around the house on my own, which was when I was about a year old.

Freedom at last! I crowed in my mind with joy. The nannies had finally carried me out the crib and let me roam around on my own. Grinning excitedly, I tentatively tested out walking on my own and managed to walk a few steps before falling. At least I can walk a bit, thanks to the maids that helped me before. I'll just crawl around for now though.

I crawled as fast as my stubby limbs would allow me to my destination; the huge mirror in the hallway near my nursery. As I drew closer to the mirror, I thought about my appearance excitedly. What would I look like in this life? Ooh maybe I could have red hair. I love red hair! And maybe green eyes… I snapped out of my daydream when I saw that I was already at the sides of the mirror. I slowly crawled forward a step, and another, and another, until I could see myself clearly in the mirror.

The first thing I noticed was my hair. It was starting to grow out nicely and was now in a boyish hair cut. It was also a platinum blonde colour. Not exactly what I was hoping for but I could live with it. As long as it wasn't green hair. Oh god, anything but green hair. Then I saw my eyes. They were a stormy gray like how to clouds would look during - well, a storm. My skin was pale, - the only part with colour would be my chubby, rosy cheeks- my lips were small, thin and pink and I had a delicate nose. All in all, I would say I look better in this life but only time will tell. But it struck me how similar I looked to Draco Malfoy. IMO(In My Opinion, to those who live under a rock) Draco looks slightly above average. He was also one of my favourite characters to ship with Hermione. Feeling rather satisfied with my looks, I decided to explore the place a it more.

* * *

This place...is dreadful. It's so… it's so dull and boring and gloomy. By the end of my own tour around the manor, I was more than ready to slap glitter everywhere and even paint coats of hot pink onto the walls of the house. Even the bathrooms need a lot more life in them! The house looks as if there's no one living in it - if you ignored the little children with pointy ears scurrying to and fro. Poor children, having to work so hard when they are still so young… Well, I'm going to give a tour of this place in my mind. It's practice incase I decide to be a tour guide or something in this life.

Everything was so pristine and clean and orderly. Nothing was out of place(except me, maybe.) The entire floor of the entrance of the house was made of black marble and the walls were a flat expanse of a steel gray colour. A grand staircase with golden, elaborate designs on the railings was stationed at the back and center of the entrance which leads up to the second floor and then splits off to different paths with each path containing different rooms. Pretty sure the only bright thing in the entrance, would be the gleaming chandeliers that hung above. I'm gonna swiiiiiiing from the chandelier, from the chandelieeeeeer! That reminds me. Have I told you about my love for music? No? Well, just don't be too surprised if I suddenly burst out in a song. Don't say I didn't say I didn't warn ya.

The house had at least six stories including the basements. Basements! I've never been into a house this big before, let alone live in it! I had always dreamed of living in a huge house but I'm not sure about now. It gets really creepy and scary at night. And this house is huge for just one family - no grandparents here at all - so please excuse me for jumping at the smallest of noises. And where do all the chandeliers come from? There are at least one or two chandeliers in every room. The house is fully furnished with a lot of furnitures, and yet it feels so cold and empty. I really, really didn't like that feeling. Could I please get a house refund?

Furthermore, this house is big enough for not one, but two ballrooms with chandeliers again. Wow, totally wasn't expecting that at all. Hopefully no parties will be hosted anytime soon, like that movie 'Frozen' where they didn't host any parties for more than ten years. The feeling of being surrounded by so many people, especially strangers, is overwhelming and basically one of the reasons I didn't go to parties in my previous life. That and my illness and the fact that I'm not exactly a social butterfly.

Also, have I mentioned that there is a cellar somewhere in the basement? Weird, huh? I couldn't get a good look though, because some random servant saw me and quickly shut the door to the cellar before carrying me back up to the ground floor. I then made a mental note to myself to check it out when no one's around.

And, tada! This concludes the mental tour of Dull and Boring Manor. Too soon? Sorry but you gotta deal with it. I'm tired. Just...gonna go rest… I crawled over to a nearby maid and tugged at her long skirt. When she looked down at me, I yawned and rubbed my eyes, sending her a not-so-subtle message of 'take me to my room, I want to sleep.' I have no idea which part of the manor I'm in and I lost count of the many twists and turns I made on my physical tour. The maid gingerly picked me up and hugged me to her chest while making her way to my room. On the way, she was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Clarise, allow me to carry my daughter to her room. I feel as if I've been neglecting her these months." Looks like Mother finally decided the pay attention to me. Clarise, the maid, handed me over to Mother with a, "Yes Ma'am." She bowed respectfully before scurrying off. Mother shifted me onto her hip and walked down the hallway to my room. No longer feeling very sleepy, I lifted my head to stare at her.

Mother is very pretty. Her blonde hair shone in the light and her face was smooth and flawless. She had a delicate nose like me and icy blue eyes that mesmerised me. Her eyes were the kind of blue that seemed like the waves of the deep waters of the ocean had mixed with the calm and light blue sky. Staring into her eyes, I saw the regret she felt at neglecting me. I relaxed in her hold once I realised she did in fact care about me. Suddenly, Mother turned a corner in the opposite direction of my room. ...What? She walked down the corridor and entered a study room. Behind the study table sat a blonde haired man who looked up from the stacks of papers on his table to acknowledge us.

"Narcissa, Drinah." Drinah...my name, I suppose. I always get the unusual names don't I? I was snapped out of my thoughts when Father spoke again.

"Drinah is a year old, yes? Has she spoken her first words yet?" When Mother shook her head, Father rubbed his chin thoughtfully, brows furrowed in thought.

"We haven't been around her for long and the servants don't speak much around her, so naturally she would be slow." Mother said. Hearing this, Father relaxed a tiny bit. I stifled the urge to roll my eyes. I'm not slow. I have in fact already said my first words as I was practicing. My voice box was rusty so I practiced every night before sleeping by saying words under my breath. A thought hit me. Inwardly, I cackled evilly.

"Mama, dada," I exclaimed loudly and gave them both a gummy smile. Mother's eyes widened and her mouth gaped while Father's eyebrows shot up in surprise. I let out a giggle at their expressions.

"Funny face," I continued. Fathers eyebrows lifted even higher. I clapped my hands with glee, a tiny smirk forming on my face. Hehe I did it!

"That was...unexpected," Father eventually said. Mother's mouth snapped shut with a click and they both smoothed the expressions out as if nothing had happened.

"...I agree. I believe it is time for Drinah's afternoon nap. Lucius, we will talk about you-know-what later." Mother swiftly walked out of the study room and closed the door and proceeded to walk to my room for real this time. She smiled in amusement at me and smoothed my hair down when I laid my head on her shoulder. I fell asleep soon after

* * *

When I awoke, I saw a pair of big, innocent gray eyes peering at me. I blinked once. My eyes trailed to the person's blonde hair, then I blinked again and my gaze landed on the person's facial features.

"Hewwo I'm your big bwother Draco!"

I let out a piercing shriek.

.

.

.

The nannies that came into the room a minute later found two children bawling their eyes out.

* * *

 **A/N: Yeaaaah chapter two is up! Please pardon all my grammatical errors. I know I suck at writing and descriptions so much. Why am I even writing this... I should be completing my homework. This is all for you guys xD**

 **Also, I have no Beta so uh...yeah just excuse my mistakes. Or ya know, tell me how to improve the story/English.**

 **Question: What songs do you listen to when you study/write/do whatever?(Also, what do ya'll think of Drinah? Hate her, love her, or ...meh?)**

 **ME: GO** **VOCALOID! Also Chainsmokers and stuff. I hate myself sometimes :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Yaaaaay I'm gettin' so much positive feedback and I'm happy! :D Also I just got back from a camp on Wednesday and only started writing on Thursday night so please forgive the late update and other stuff. As usual, no beta, and I'm rlly tired... Thank you for those reviews!** ❤️️

 **TheDarkKunoichi: I love rebirth fics too hehe and a Vocaloid fan YEY! For some reason, I've always been fascinated by the Malfoys(don't ask) so here I am. Phew, Drinah ain't Mary Sue. This is kinda a self-insert and I am pretty weird haha...ha. Hm, I never thought my descriptions were long. I always assumed they were too short so I always try to add length. TBH I hate doing descriptions. OwO those songs are gooood. I'm glad I listened to them xD (Gonna add them to playlist later.)**

 **DarkDust27: Thanks for your review! I'm not too sure who Drinah would be shipped with tho. I'll leave that to ya'll to decide haha. There's plenty of time anyways. She's still young.**

 **Well, on with this terrible-not-so-terrible story of mine. Really weird and confusing chapter right here. I should really reread my chapters. Also, I apologise for bad grammar and punctuation in advance.**

 **Disclaimer: Sadly, Harry Potter does not belong to me or Fred would still be alive. Drinah is all mine, though. MINE.**

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

Reincarnation. Rebirth. I didn't really think about it after being born again, I don't know how I should feel about this. Ecstatic? Excited at a second chance in life? Afraid? I was still reeling from the shock that I was reborn into Harry Potter which is a fictional world. Out of all places to be reborn into, Harry Potter would be at the bottom of my 'which place I would most likely be reborn in' list because come on, it's fictional. How is it possible to be reincarnated into a fictional universe? Ugh, this is giving me a headache. Sure, I had contemplated what I would do if I was reincarnated, but I never thought it would actually happen. It was more like a passing daydream to keep away boredom. My hobby really.

Being reborn into Harry Potter was my dream. Once. Not sure about now since I'm older and actually in the book. I understand that magic isn't something to use lightly and that people can get hurt by it and possibly die. I'm a very indecisive person, I admit that. I don't know what to do with so much power in my hands. I know I cannot use it to hurt. It's disgusting just thinking about intentionally hurting someone. I just can't.

Eh, I wonder if I'm a squib. If I am, I'm very sure my parents will blow a fuse. I would be pretty disappointed seeing as I wouldn't be able to attend Hogwarts. I really want to try Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and the Sorting Hat. Oh oh, I wonder which house I'll be sorted into. I used to do sorting quizzes for laughs and usually got Hufflepuff and occasionally Ravenclaw. Not much surprise there. Maybe a Gryffindor once out of all the quizzes. Surprisingly no Slytherin. I mean, I can be mean and sarcastic. Why not Slytherin? Green is cool. (Purple is the best.) And learning magic! It will be so much fun. Hehe, think of all the things I could do. I could float a coach to where I am and casually lounge in it, then levitate a bag of popcorn to me and _voila_ , a mini cinema. I could make potions! HehehehehehehHEHEHE. Sorry, getting a bit ahead of myself here- HOLD. I just realised that those children with pointy ears that work here...of course! They're house elves! And they're adorable. Can I please keep one or ten?

Wait, speaking of houses and magic… Draco. My big brother. Lucius is my father and he's a Death Eater and works for Voldy. I've never gotten a Slytherin result in sorting quizzes. My Pottermore result was also Hufflepuff. I was reborn into the Malfoy family. The Malfoy family that works for Voldy. And I _have never gotten a Slytherin result_ and _ohmygoshohmygoshmynewparentsworkforVoldyandImightendupinHufflepuffandI'llbekilledoffIdon'twanttodieagainnotagainnonoplease-_

Suffice to say, I was hyperventilating at this point.

* * *

After my initial mini panic attack,(It was mini, okay?) I calmed down enough to collect my thoughts together. So, I'm a Malfoy that is not Slytherin-ish and I have a crazy aunt and father that worships Lord Voldemort the Alien Face. Wow, this is amazing! (Not very sorry to say that this is a quote from Frozen.) (Also, I suddenly remembered that Lordy Voldy is bald. I have no idea why I suddenly thought of that. Honest.) Well, I still have ten or so years until I leave for Hogwarts, which I will be if not...stuff will happen. Nasty stuff. Ten years to prepare for my demise. Yippee. I heard a sniffle in the room. Peeking out from my crib, I saw Draco sitting in a corner of the room. I notice that it's the corner furthest from me. _Ouch, my heart._ Not that I can blame him. What kind of person am I to scream bloody murder in his face when I see him? A very shocked person, that's who. But looking at him sniffling in a corner… _So so so CUTE. Ohmygoshneedtocontrolinnerfangirl._ Chill out Ansta- Drinah. Just a cute boy crying in a corner, nothing to fangirl about.

Huh. Cute boy. That sounded awfully wrong.

...I still want to glomp him and pinch his cheeks.

...But I'm stuck in this crib. Oh well, maybe another time. I still need to get his attention, though. I feel really bad about scaring him like that.

"Buh!" I gurgled. I waved my chubby arms around and added extra noises just in case. Draco raised his head and looked at me with watery grey eyes. Suppressing my urge to squeal, I waved my arms again at him. "Boo-bwother!" I called out. Draco hiccuped and swiped at his eyes but continued staring at me. I felt my eye twitch in annoyance.

"Up!" I commanded in a bossy tone. Though it didn't sound very commanding because of my babyish voice. Draco eyed me warily but stood up and wobbly made his way towards me anyway. How old is he anyway? I'll find out soon enough. Observe and take note, An- Drinah. Observe and take note. But for now...I had a big brother to appease.

* * *

It turned out that Draco is two years old, making him a year older than me. I had to be dropped on the floor to get that information. I will never trust him to carry me again until he's at least nine years old. Ow, my head. Rest in peace my precious brain cells. No thanks to my brother.

* * *

My next five years were rather uneventful. Mother spent more time with me and Draco while Father was off doing magical things. Dark things. And of course, the dreaded homeschooling. The English here is slightly different and I had some difficulties adjusting to it but other than that I easily breezed through my studies. I was way ahead of my brother, but only because of my extra years. In the Manor, I was dubbed 'Little Genius'. I held back my knowledge at first, but it just got so boring that I decided not to. I never really liked Lucius Before and now that I know him in person, I'm really starting to dislike him even more. He hardly spends time with us - mother, brother, and me - and the rare times that he eats his meals with us, he would stare disappointedly at my brother. It's not Brother's fault for being behind me. He doesn't have the extra years that I do.

Mother is growing on me. In my previous life, I felt neutral towards Narcissa before eventually liking her somewhat for being loyal to her family and also for saving Harry, though it was more for her family than her liking Harry. She's the tough love type of mother. The good thing about being quiet and antisocial is that you notice things that others usually don't see. Which was probably how I could read Mother - her love for us was obvious if you could find it - and how I knew it was Draco that ruined Father's papers with tea and not the house elves.

He should know not to leave cookie crumbs everywhere, especially when committing a bad deed. The poor elves were shutting their ears in the ovens for an hour until Mother saw and stopped them.

Brother and I were thick as thieves, though he did get on my nerves occasionally- oh, who am I kidding. He gets on my nerves every. Single. Day. But that's probably what siblings are supposed to do. He's arrogant and that annoys me. I pull on his ears whenever he acts arrogantly or pompously. He isn't as snobbish in Here than in Before. I like to think that it's because of me and the ear pulling. Woah, what if I continue pulling his ears and he becomes like Buddha with the long ears! Maybe he'll be wiser… Yeah, he needs a lot more wisdom.

Our favourite things to do are making stuff together for the house elves, (which he reluctantly agreed to. Puppy eyes rock. I think he's grown fond of them too.) pranking certain servants, and just doing stuff together in general. Also, I asked Mother and Father to let me do morning runs and exercises. I've always wanted to try that; I'm a very active person and I can't sit still for long. They agreed to, but on the condition that I had to be careful, what with my weak lungs and all. I can see that Mother and Father are proud of me, though Father tries not to show it much. Brother has also joined me. He saw that I was fitter each day and seeing how competitive he is, he asked to join me. After Mother and Father gave him their permission, he tried to hide his eagerness by being as nonchalant as possible when he thanked them. Oh, brother.

Father has also started introducing us to the wizarding world. He made his decision after seeing a few lights popping when Brother was being bratty. As for me… it's still uncertain if I'm a witch or not. Brother has also become obsessed with Quidditch, unsurprisingly, and he had begged Father for a broomstick which Father denied him and that led to the lights display. Father was in a good mood afterwards.

He's really weird, you know?

...I didn't tell you that, though.

* * *

2 years later

"Bloody hell- DRACO, DRINAH, GET BACK HERE!" A curse sounded from the servant's quarters. Brother and I sniggered as we ran down the corridor and into my room. That's right, we were on a super secret mission to decorate a certain maid's face with sticky and gooey stuff. And right after we finished the mission, she woke up and shrieked. We quickly ran out of the room while she was distracted by the nice date her face was having with the floor.

I closed the door quietly behind me. Our faces were flushed with adrenaline and we panted slightly, trying to recover from our run back to my room. My morning exercises really paid off. "Think she's getting scolded by Mother now for 'making a mess'?" Draco grinned at me. I shot back an equally huge smile back at him. She deserved this small prank for picking on Dobby. The nerve of her.

"Wonder how she's gonna clean the room," I snickered. There was a knock on my door. I saw Draco shoot fearful look towards the door. The knocks became louder and more insistent. Draco tiptoed quickly across the room to hide and motioned for me to open the door. That coward.

Gulping nervously, I slowly inched the door open… and yelped when Mother's face suddenly appeared in front of me. I very nearly slammed the door in her face.

"Mother! You almost gave me a bloody heart attack! I'm too young to die!" I exclaimed dramatically while clutching at my left chest.

"No need for dramatics, Drinah," Mother commented dryly. "You know very well what I am here for." I scratched the back of my head sheepishly.

"Brother's hiding in my wardrobe," I told her. There was a muffled thump and Draco rolled out of my wardrobe. He pointed at me and shouted, "Drinah, you traitor!"

"Hey, it's rude to point ya know. Also, you were the one that left me to deal with Mother while you went to hide. Ya coward!" I said defensively. Draco rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Whatever, you git."

"Children, you know you shouldn't cause trouble for the servants. Whatever made you do such a thing? Draco, Drinah, you're both nine and eight years old respectively. Please behave appropriately and maturely. "

I hung my head low and shuffled my feet. "But… she was being mean. She's always mean to the house elves." I mumbled. I could see Draco fidgeting guiltily from the corner of my eye.

"I never want to see this happen again, is that clear? At least be more discreet about your pranks. We have a reputation to uphold," Mother said. I nodded my head. Wait…

I snapped my head up and I saw her blue eyes dancing in amusement. Draco and I openly gaped at her, both of us wearing expressions of disbelief. Wow, never knew Mother had a sense of humour. You know what they say: you learn something new every day. Am I right, or am I right?

I locked eyes with my brother and, grinning at each other, we saluted and said, "Yes Ma'am!" in unison. Mother's lips twitched upwards and with a flick of her robes, she left the room. The moment she left, Brother and I dissolved into a fit of giggles.

Ah, life is good.

* * *

I'm ten and Draco is eleven. I hadn't shown any signs of being magical. None. At all. Sometimes, I catch Mother staring worriedly at me, with her eyes flickering to Father's face that showed his disappointment. He's gotten a lot harsher on me now. I'm still doing well in my studies, though I get bored easily, but he expresses his disappointment in me possibly being a… being a squib.

I'm was worried too, but more of in the 'aw, I really wanted to go Hogwarts and learn jinxes and cool stuff' way. And also that I would be disowned and kicked out of the family and never see Mother and Brother again- Yeah, just gonna shove that to the back of my mind. No signs of being magical until that one fateful day I almost died. I know what you're thinking. I'm thinking that too. Cliché much? That really happened, though, and it wasn't a pleasant experience.

* * *

 _"Mother! Father! Look what Brother got!" I burst excitedly into Father's study room, dragging a smug Draco along. I waved the envelope in the air and bounced around the room. "His Hogwarts letter! Looklooklooklooklook! Can I go too? Can I go?"_

 _"This is wonderful, Draco. Get into Slytherin and you might finally get your own broomstick. The newest one." Mother said._

 _"Yes, we must get you school supplies right away. Perhaps after you finish your breakfast… good Draco." Father praised._

 _"Brother, please stop glowing. Your ego is big enough already," I huffed. Draco just smirked at me," You want to go? But you can't even use magic!" My eyebrow twitched in annoyance but before I could retort, Father spoke up._

 _"Drinah, you are to stay in the Manor and complete your assignments. You are not going to Hogwarts or following us to get Draco's school items," Father said coldly. There was a stunned silence in the room. I opened my mouth to demand answers when-_

 _"Drinah, you are dismissed. Complete your assignments now," Father cut off. I felt rage bubble up in me. How dare he dismiss me? I will dismiss myself thank you very much. Father narrowed his eyes, a warning in them. Schooling my face into a blank mask, I clenched and unclenched my fist and left the room. I had to force myself to close the door as gently as possible. I felt my nose burn and my vision began to blur. **No Drinah, control**_ yourself _ **. Don't cry, there's nothing to cry about. I'm not sad. Stop crying.**_

 _ **Why am I crying?**_

 _ **Why won't the tears stop?**_

 _ **How do I control them?**_

 _ **…Stop being a crybaby, Drinah.**_

 _I let out a shaky breath and walked to the gardens to cool off. I'll just cry silently there where no one can see me. I'll wipe my tears away when I'm done._

 _After making my way to the garden, I sat on a swing and let the_ dam _loose. The tears came pouring out._

 _Crunch. Shuffle. I hastily wiped away my tears and put up a blank mask. I glanced up. It's the maid that bullies the house elves. Man, why is she still here?_

 _"Miss Drinah, you should go back to your room," she told me with a fake smile. This is… creepier than usual. Frowning slightly, I agreed to her suggestion, though I kept wondering why I felt like running away from her. I got off of the swing and set off towards the Manor. The bad feeling wouldn't go away._

 _I turned around to ask the maid if my family had left the Manor yet when I saw a glint of sharp metal hidden behind her back. My eyes widened when she shifted the knife subtly to her master hand. Did she want to hurt or kill me with a kitchen knife? She's… she's nuts! I when a hand gripped my hair and roughly yanked it backwards. I cried out in pain and twisted my body to break free from her. When that didn't work, I kicked and bit my assailant. She raised her fist and blows after blows rained down on me 'till I turned black and blue. My lip had also split open. I was openly crying again._

 _"Help! Someone help!" I screamed._

 _ **I'm scared… Someone - anyone - please help me.**_

 _ **I don't want to die again.**_

 _"Stop! Why are you doing this?" I whimpered, clawing at the hands gripping me._

 _The maid chuckled darkly. "You and your brother are pests. Do you know how much I've been suffering already? You're all just a bunch of stupid brats," she snarled. "The Malfoy family should all just die." She raised the knife she was holding, the metal glinting in the sunlight, and-_

 _ **(The knife plunged down towards me, her grinning crazily at me)**_

 _The._

 _World._

 _Shattered._

* * *

 **End of chapter:**

 **Drinah- 10**

 **Draco- 11**

 ***It's August 1st. Same day Draco meets Harry.**

 **A/N: Hellooooo. This chapter's really dark at the last bit o.O** **Sorry 'bout the last few parts. I got really sleepy and I was half asleep when writing it. SO SORRY. Ugh, gonna go sleep now. I need coffee and my bed. This was really rushed, BTW, so PLEASE tell me if there are any big mistakes. Like I said, I was half asleep. Thoughts forming, eyes not really seeing, typing gibberish. Also, I didn't reread this chapter. No beta. Poor Drinah...**

 **Am I the only one that gets sleepy at 9.30 pm...? :)**

 **(Pls say no) (Does anyone even read A/N's?)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello all! I'm so so so happy. All the positive feedback, woohoo! I** ** _apollo_** **gise for the late update as I was rather** ** _bee_** **sy with life. Stupefaction is usually updated on Saturdays(if possible) so IMAGINE ME PANICKING.**

 **DarkDust27: I SWEAR I SEE YOU IN EVERY FANFIC I READ. *CoughIWasJustPassin'ByCough***

 **I should really do something about the previous chapters... Also I'm sorry for this chapter's length and how long it took :(**

 **HP doesn't belong to me... I ain't got skills for writing haha...hah...**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

White. That was the first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes.

 _(Asleep for a week, they said. Nearly killed the woman.)_

Ah, the typical white hospital room. No surprise there. Hospital? Why am I in a… Oh. I almost forgot about that Crazy Lady-man. I suppose that's why I'm here.

Wait. I almost died again? How am I still alive - am I even alive? - and does heaven have white ceilings or is this really a hospital room? It hit me how easy it is for someone's life to be ripped away. You could be, I don't know, buying an ice cream when - bam! - you just got slashed to bits by some dude. Haha, ice cream and being slashed to bits.

… I think I need to cut back on horror stories, yeah?

That Crazy Lady-man went a tad too far. Trying to killing an innocent child? Not the best way to prove your sanity. And the fact that she used a knife instead of fancy poisons or magic? Not discreet at all. At least put effort into attempting to murder me! I don't think she's very smart. Who in their right mind(not her, of course) would attempt to murder a child with a glaringly obvious murder weapon, in broad daylight? She needs 'How To Murder Someone Half-Secretly 101.' I doubt it would be allowed in her cell so forget I said anything.

And yes, Crazy Lady-man is a witch, pun intended. None of the human servants are allowed to use magic unless given permission by Narcissa or Lucius. All the servants are magical. Naturally, there would be no muggleborns or squibs here. Lucius absolutely detests them.

 _(Aren't we all the same?)_

I snapped out of my thoughts when I felt my neck growing increasingly uncomfortable. I turned to my side to get more comfortable and came face to face with my brother's face. His head was turned to the sides and it lay on his arm. And his face, oh Merlin his face! He still looks like a stuck up brat even when asleep, I snorted.

Smiling cheekily at his sleeping form, I reached out to ruffle his hair. I hate it when his hair is styled up. He's going to have a fit when he wakes up and sees the state of his hair. I'll just sit back and enjoy the show for as long as I can. He's used to me messing up his hair, anyways.

Then, as I was pulling back my arm, I saw it. An angry, pink scar streaked from the underside of my arm just below my wrist to my elbow. I looked to my left arm and to my relief, it was the same unblemished pale skin.

I sat up and lifted the front of my shirt to check for more scars - Yep. A jagged burn scar was smacked in the middle of my belly. Letting out a sigh, I pulled my shirt down and flopped dejectedly back on hospital pillow.

I've never been fond of scars. In my previous life, I had a tendency to fall and walk away with a scar, unlike my friends. I remember having five scars by the time I was twelve and my friends having at most two. And now in this life, I already have two scars that I can see and I'm ten. Not to mention, these scars are glaringly obvious. Time to wallow in self-pity.

A nurse walked into the room and greeted me cheerfully. "Good morning Miss Malfoy! I will be doing a check-up on you to make sure nothing is out of the ordinary. You can be discharged in about two to three days." She quickly conducted the check-up and after one last look at me, she left the room with a reassuring smile.

The moment she left, Mother and Father strode into the room. Mother hurried over to my side, her eyes roving around my form and lingering on my scarred arm for an uncomfortably long time until her eyes snapped to mine when I started fidgeting with my fingers. Mother slapped my hands away and said sternly, "I remember telling you to break this habit of yours, Drinah." I nodded my head and grinned at her sheepishly.

"S-sorry. I'm always forgetting…" Upon seeing Mother's eyes narrow at me, I quickly corrected my statement. "Not- not always, I mean. Just...occasionally..." I mumbled.

"She does it all the time! Every day, every hour - every minute!" I glared at my traitorous brother who had just woken up.

"Oh, stuff it Draco. At least I don't whisper sweet nothings to my broom every day while polishing it. Do you know how creepy it is?" I scoffed. Draco spluttered at my comment, heat rising to his cheeks.

"H-hey! I do not do that! Well...maybe, but that's not the point! And you're trying to change the subject!" I rolled my eyes and opened my mouth to reply but was cut off by Father.

"Draco, Narcissa, I need a word with Drinah. In private. If I may," Father drawled. I tensed and gulped nervously. Father wants to speak to me in private? Not a good sign. Definitely not a good sign at all. Mother and Brother left the room obediently, with the latter casting a concerned look at me. Clearly Draco knew that whatever Father wants to talk about would not be pleasant.

The door closed behind them and Father turned to look down at me. "Drinah, do you remember how you ended in the hospital?" I nodded my head hesitantly. "I remember the cra- the maid tried to kill me and it became really bright and hard to see. That's all I remember." Father was unamused at my slip up.

"The 'light' was a result of your accidental magic," he continued. "You were scared to the point of accidentally using magic as a form of self-defense against that mentally unstable servant. Rest assured, she has been taken care of. What you did was cause a, thankfully, small explosion that threw the filth a number of yards away, causing her to break a few bones in the process," Father smirked darkly. My suspicions of Father being a sadist has been proven correct. I'm not sure how to feel about that…

"Your...outburst brought the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes to our doorstep. When I was notified of this, we had to apparate back to the manor, and the sight to welcome us was a charred garden, two unconscious bodies lying yards away from each other and three members of the DMAC.

Your brother was affected by this incident as well. Your mother and brother were just on their way to get school robes when I was alerted of new arrivals at the Manor and we had to postpone the trip for school supplies to another day. The whole incident was troublesome. I do not want a repeat of this, understood?" I nodded my head slowly, slightly dazed at the new information. Father strode out the room, his robe fluttering behind him.

...Draco didn't get his school robes on the day I got hospitalised? That means he didn't meet Harry! And because of that, Harry wouldn't have his first impression of Draco and thus turn him down when Draco tries to 'recruit' him.

...I just messed up so much of the plot in one day. Go me.

* * *

Draco left for Hogwarts two weeks ago. He took the school train, of course. I had considered whining to Mother and Father that I wanted to go to Hogwarts too but decided against it. I'd like to think that I'm more mature than that, thank you very much.

After Draco left, Father started spending a lot more time away from the Manor. On the occasions he was home, he would usually be locked up in his study or walking around in the library with a thoughtful expression. (Probably Death Eater stuff, but who knows?) Mother is rarely home as well. She's been attending more parties than I can count on one hand. I wonder how she puts up with all the party invites. (Again, probably Death Eater social gatherings.)

The house felt empty without Draco around. I'm used to Mother and Father's absence, but Draco has never been away from me for so long before, and he isn't coming back anytime soon. Ah, I can't wait for him to come back. Then this house would feel warmer and more like a home than some prized house put up for display.

I'm not lonely. The house elves keep me company. Father doesn't like the house elves so Draco and I have to pretend to be cold towards them when he's around. Mother doesn't mind much. In fact, when she's feeling generous, she would thank them or ask politely for things.

Speaking of house elves… _Holy cow they are so adorable_. They are all so cute but Dobby is my favourite. He's even cuter here than shown in the movies from Before!

Excuse me while I fangirl.

My schedule goes like this: morning exercise routine, shower, breakfast, studies, lunch, studies again, tea break, etiquette lessons, followed by free time before and after dinner. Basically, my days are boring without Draco, and my pranks just aren't as entertaining without him around.

I wiped away a sheen of sweat on my forehead and neck and headed towards my bathroom. Since I started exercising in the mornings, my stamina increased gradually and because of this, I started to push myself more by increasing the number of times I do an exercise. Not only that, my lungs have also become stronger so I don't cough as much after exercising.

After showering, I felt energised. Humming a tune under my breath, I practically skipped all the way to the dining hall. The moment I walked into the dining hall, I froze in my tracks. There, sitting at the table, was Mother and Father. Both of them. It appears they were waiting for me, as they minute I walked in, they looked up at me and gestured for me to come over to them.

"Drinah, come here. Draco has finally set aside time for his precious family and sent us a letter." Mother held out the letter to me. Yep, she's pissed at Brother for not sending a letter sooner. I took the letter from her and opened it.

 _Dear all, a great number of things has happened these two weeks. I was sorted into Slytherin-_

"I knew you could do it, my boy," Mother cooed.

 _-Even before the ugly hat touched my head._

At this, I couldn't help but snort. "That's my brother who can brag his 'achievements' and insult something in one sentence," I remarked.

 _Did you know Harry Potter goes to Hogwarts? It's a shame he was sorted into Gryffindor - though the way everyone flocks to him disgusts me, really. Harry Potter acquainted himself with a Weasley. I supposed he couldn't help not_ _knowing he had bad company, so I tried to tell him on the train but he spat in my face and practically shoved me away! Father, can't you do something about him? Not only that, he was made the Gryffindor seeker even though he's only a first-year! This is unheard of - it's unfair! Not only that, Potter got a Nimbus Two Thousand! Everyone is biased towards Potter. 'The-Boy-Who-Lived' my foot - he couldn't have defeated You-Know-Who when he was only a little snot-nosed baby. Anyway, this is all for now. Godfather wants to speak to me about advanced Potions._

 _~Draco_

 _P.S. Drinah, how are your pranks going? Miss me?_

"Dear brother, jealousy does not look good on you," I tutted. Surprisingly, Mother chuckled - even Father, who usually masks his emotions, let a smile grace his lips.

"Well, since that's done, I am going to have my breakfast." I called on a house elf who appeared before me with a 'pop!'

"Yes, Miss Drinah?"

"Grilled ham and cheese croissants for breakfast," I ordered. "Make it quick." The house elf bowed and disappeared.

A few seconds later, a warm plate of croissant was placed in front of me. I whispered a 'thanks' and dug in. As I ate, my mind began to wander to that incident. I always thought my pranks to be entertainment or just giving the servants a taste of their own medicine, (to those who hurt my precious people) but do I go too far with them? Is that what caused that servant to lash out?(Although she was _really overreacting_.)

Maybe I should stop my pranks… I didn't really mean for anyone to get hurt. How did something so light-hearted turn into anything but that? Is it because I'm just insensitive to others' feelings? I've never been a touchy-feely person. You'd think my illness would have made me more emotional and all, but no - that isn't me. Sure, I can get emotional; I can't control my tears, especially when frustrated. At all. I was a socially awkward person.

I didn't know how to strike up conversations with people - let alone converse naturally with them - unless I'm very close to them. And once I was around people I knew very well or at least for years, like my parents, I would turn into a completely different person. Around strangers or acquaintances, I would be shy, awkward and quiet. Around my family or close friends, I would be dramatic, loud and a natural conversationalist. See? Polar opposites!

But this only applies to face-to-face situations. I'm more outgoing when not talking to someone face-to-face, for some reason. Maybe it's because of my low self-esteem, who knows? Either way, it was because of this that I didn't have many friends, but the few friends that, we were rather close to each other.

And to me, that was all that mattered.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey all, it's been a while. I can't update every Saturdays anymore coz I'm busier now. Sorry! Does anyone even read A/N's...? This was such a terrible chapter :(**

 **Edit: I changed a wee part. Thanks for bringing it up xD**

 **Chapter Five**

Another year flew by and I'm finally old enough to attend Hogwarts. No, I'm not excited about attending school. I'm excited about the magic and the creatures and the sherbet lemons. And, of course, Hogsmead. I almost can't believe it! Me, attending Hogwarts, in three months!

Strangely enough, eleven years in this life seemed to have gone by in a blink of an eye compared to Before. Strange. Furthermore, my coughs have gotten much better though the healers(or doctors. I don't know.) said I would never be fully rid of it. When I asked them why they couldn't just fix it with magic, they simply glared at me before proceeding to ignore me. That is, until I muttered not-so-quietly, "wait till Father hears about this!" Afterwards, they fetched a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate for me and told me that it could not be fixed with magic.

...That sentence is quite useful. I should use it more often.

Unfortunately, I could not escape the party Mother insisted on hosting for me because "Drinah, turning eleven is an important age for the wizarding world. Besides, this is a great opportunity to see if your ballroom dancing lessons have paid off.", or so she said. Surprisingly, the party wasn't as bad as expected. I met many people and was introduced to two rather muscular girls for obvious reasons. Sadly, Draco couldn't attend my party so I was forced to attempt to socialise on my own.

Speaking of Draco, most of the letters he sends to us are complaints about Harry Potter('Potty' according to him and fellow Slytherins) and his gang and Quidditch and Harry Potter and his gang and Hagrid. There was once he was so furious about Madam Hooch correcting him and the fact Harry got to be a seeker that he tore a big hole in the parchment and didn't even notice.

* * *

"Draco!" My yell was his only warning before I barrelled into him from behind. I jumped up and down excitedly, trying to jump onto his back. When I had succeeded, though I suspect it's because he bent down, I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my chin on his head and closed my eyes contently.

Drinah get off me. You're heavy. Like a cow," Draco drawled. Ignored him as always. This was just his way of saying he missed me.

"I-I did not!" Draco hissed indignantly.

"Oops, did I say that out loud? My bad!" I laughed gleefully and messed up his perfectly combed back hair.

"I could hex you, you know? I've learned plenty of hexes and jinxes from my time at Hogwarts," he replied haughtily. I rolled my eyes and was about to reply when I saw a flash of red from the corner of my eye. When I turned around, I gasped. I hopped off of Draco's back -much to his confusion- and stealthily made my way to the pillar behind the group of redheads.

"Ron! George! Fred! Percy! You're all back! Oh, I can't wait to go Hogwarts too! Only three more months, Mum!" Ginny said excitedly.

"That's right, Ginny! Only three more months and you'll be-"

"-attending Hogwarts-"

"-playing pranks-"

"-breaking rules-"

"-detention!-"

"-punching Slytherins-"

"-and wreaking havoc with us, your dear brothers!" The twins finished in unison. Ginny giggled while Molly sighed in fond exasperation.

"You better not have gotten into any trouble, George and Fred Weasley, or you'll get it from me," Molly threatened. Fred and George grinned at each other.

"Not much trouble, Mum-"

"-but we did get Ginny a Hogwarts toilet seat!" Molly looked about ready to explode when they said that. Just as she opened her mouth, the twins interrupted with a "only joking Mum! Jeez, woman…" Ginny just laughed harder.

By then, I was trying my hardest not to explode with laughter and my face was red from trying to suppress my laughter. I was so focused on this that I hadn't noticed that one of the twins had snuck up behind me until I felt someone's finger jab into my side which resulted in me squeaking and jumping out of my hiding place. Jumping out of my hiding place directly in front of the Weasleys.

"Oh look who we have here! Hello dearie, I'm Molly Weasley, what's your name?" Molly smiled warmly at me and held her hand out. I was too stunned to answer her question. Instead, my focus was on the top of her head. I stared for about a minute until one of the twins waved his hand in front of my face.

"Your hair's really pretty Ma'am. Could I have it please?" I blurted out. I slapped my hand over my mouth and my eyes widened in horror. There was a moment of silence as the Weasleys stared at me. (Judging, pitiful gazes.) The Weasley children huddled around each other -except for Percy who was staring at me with an odd look on his face- and talked quietly amongst themselves, occasionally glancing back at me before turning back. (Whispering about me behind my back.)

When the Weasley children had finished their discussion, they marched up to me and…

Shook my shoulders. "Well, now that you mention it, our hair is rather fabulous if, I do say so myself. Right, Ronnie?" Fred -or George- said.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and our freckles are like the stars sparkling radiantly in the night sky. As bright as our futures," Ron said dramatically.

"Exactly!" The twins cackled gleefully. "Little miss, My name's George-"

"-And my name's Fred-"

"-That anti-social pompous fathead there would be our older brother Percy-" At this, Percy let out a cry of rage.

"-and this is our Ickle Ronnie-"

"-and the little lady clinging to Mum would be our little sister Ginny," George said. "Now that we've introduced ourselves, mind telling us your name?"

"Ah, I'm - I mean, my name is Drinah." I chewed my lips nervously, my eyes darting around, unconsciously looking for Draco. And looking everywhere but at Fred.

"Pleased to meet your acquaintance, Drinah!" The Weasleys chorused. They probably think I'm just a little Muggle girl. Now, how do I go about subtly telling them that I'm a witch?

"You know…" I began. "How about we exchange gifts?" The Weasleys gave me looks of confusion.

"I meant that you give me that Hogwarts toilet seat you were talking about and in exchange I give you some… interesting information," I elaborated. When I mentioned the Hogwarts toilet seat, Percy and Molly paled while the remaining children snickered.

"Are you a witch then, dear?" Molly asked. I grinned and nodded my head.

"I can't wait to go Hogwarts in, three months! I get to learn magic! And I get to cast spells and make potions and maybe -just maybe- I can get on the Quidditch team and, and I can play pranks!" At this, my face lit up with impish glee. I could practically see Molly sweatdrop as she imagined me and the twins causing mayhem at Hogwarts. Oh dearie.

"Ah, you'll be in the same year as Ginny here. You might even end up in the same house!" Molly exclaimed happily. I nodded my head enthusiastically even though I knew I probably wouldn't end up in Gryffindor with Ginny. Just then, I heard a someone shout my name. A someone by the name of Draco Malfoy who is, by the way, marching up to me at this very moment.

"Drinah Narcissa Malfoy! Where in Salazar's name did you run off to?" Draco demanded. I gulped and shrunk in on myself as he continued to rant and lecture me about 'keeping close to him at all times and never run off without his permission'. He didn't stop until Percy caught his attention by clearing his throat loudly four times. Draco turned pink when he noticed the family of Weasleys(minus Arthur) staring at him in shock and bewilderment. Well, him and me. Bet you they just realised that we are related. Imagine that! Draco Malfoy lecturing his younger sister and the Weasleys having an actual decent conversation with a Malfoy. Never thought I'd see the day… Nah, I actually predicted this would happen. Although Draco may not look like it, he actually is a big softy and a mother hen deep inside. Unfortunately, he's still a coward and arrogant brat. Some people are just born this way. Get it? I was born this way? You know, Lady Gaga? Nevermind.

Just then, Molly cleared her throat. "I believe some...introductions are in order?" I looked at Draco and he stared back at me. I turned back to the Weasleys and they looked expectantly at me. I grumbled under my breath.

"I am Drinah Narcissa Malfoy, younger sister to Draco Lucius Malfoy, daughter of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy," I said softly, shyly glancing at the Weasleys and watching for their reaction. I'm suddenly a lot more self conscious now that they know that I am a Malfoy. Surprisingly, no one looked any differently at me except maybe Ron. His face was squished up funnily like he couldn't decide to be disgusted at me or be indifferent. Pft.

"Drinah," Draco drawled. "I didn't know you knew the poor little blood traitors here." The Weasleys stiffened and Ron sneered at Draco.

"Uh...pun intended or nah?" I joked, trying to lighten up the mood. Draco just shot me an unamused look. Well, I get that face very often. Teehee.

"I suggest you don't get too friendly with the lot here. Let's go." Draco dragged me away from the Weasleys and I hastily waved them goodbye with my free hand. Only Ginny waved back, albeit hesitantly.

The moment we left King's Cross Station, I whirled on Draco.

"What's wrong with you?" I hissed. "We were getting along perfectly fine until you came along and ruined everything!"

Draco arched an eyebrow but continued walking and I had to jog to catch up with him. "Ruined what? The start of a friendship?" He scoffed. "There's no way you can ever befriend the Weasleys. We, the Malfoys, don't associate ourselves with the lesser, let alone befriend them."

By then, I was fuming. I wanted to lash out at him, throw things at him and punch him in the face just to but I was a Malfoy now, and Malfoys do not resort to physical violence. If I were to do so, not only would I look bad, but it would also reflect badly on the Malfoys. Not only that, if I hit Draco, I would be in hot water with my parents so no, I did not hit him. Instead, I let my anger simmer down and smiled placidly at Draco. He was so taken aback by the change that he stumbled, and nearly made to first base with the pavement, and landed sprawled on his back.

My lips twitched. Once. Three times. I struggled to keep up my calm demeanor. I could feel the laugh bubbling up inside of me, threatening to burst free. I clamped my lips with my hands to stop the laughter from escaping but…

"Pft- hahaha!" My knees buckled under me. I was laughing so hard, so uncontrollably, that tears were streaming down my red cheeks.

We must have looked like quite the sight. An eleven year old girl laughing till tears streamed down her face on her knees while clutching her stomach with one arm and banging the floor with the other, and a twelve year old boy lying on the sidewalk looking so done with life.

I had a bruise at my waist from when Draco pinched me to stop me from dying of laughter. Or more likely to stop laughing at him.

Him and his ego, I swear.

* * *

When I saw Harry Potter for the first time in Flourish and Blotts, I felt myself freeze for a second. After I recovered from the initial shock, I immediately started to check him out.

Um. Not in that way. Draco would skin me alive. I meant that I was observing him and noting his features. It's a habit I retained from my previous life. I like keeping track of people and I think I said before that sitting back and watching people and my surroundings was my hobby. Still is, actually. Unfortunately, most of my bad habits from Before don't magically go away. For example, I would always crack my knuckles, pick my nails and peel off the skin beside my fingernails when, well, I'm not holding anything. And I'm still doing this now.

Mother and Father hate it when I crack my knuckles and 'disfigure' my fingers by peeling off the skin. Draco just berates me for getting blood everywhere.

(I know he's secretly worried for me though.)

Right now, I'm nervously picking my fingernails and trying to disappear behind my brother when he opened his big mouth and started talking to the Golden Trio.

"Shut up Malfoy! You don't know anything about my family. At least my family cares about each other unlike yours that's full of cold-blooded murderers!" Ron spat.

Nope, he did not just say that.

I snapped. "Listen here, you hypocrite. Don't talk about the Malfoys like that. 'You don't know anything about my family'? Puh-lease, _we should be the ones saying that to you_. Our family cares for each other just as much as yours does. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got things to do." I stalked away from them in anger and towards the shelves of books, my family staring after me in shock.

 _The nerve of that Ronaldo guy._ He had _no right_ to say those things. I swiped at the corner of my eyes and distractedly browsed through the shelves for the books I need. I sighed. I shouldn't have lost my temper on him. I don't usually yell my problems out so I guess what I just did might have been out of character... Not that he didn't deserve to be yelled at, of course, but my previously good mood has been ruined. The faster I get my books, the faster I can get away from this place. I don't even want to think about Lockhart. Thankfully, we had pre-ordered our books from Lockhart and poor Dobby was sent to fetch the books from the horrid man.

Poor Dobby indeed…

After paying for all our books, we walked out of Flourish and Blotts. On the way, we bumped into the Weasleys. Literally. They were about to apologise until they saw who exactly they bumped into. It was funny to see Molly's warm smile fall from her face so fast. I was hoping to avoid any conflict but, surprise surprise(not), Father opened his mouth first with a snide remark. I mentally facepalmed. Malfoy men are like children, really.

Their cold exchange wasn't of any interest to me. But the black book dropped into Ginny's cauldron was.

I'm facing a dilemma. Should I take the book now or wait for everything to happen first at Hogwarts? If I take the book, Ginny wouldn't be possessed and no one would be petrified. The chamber wouldn't open, or at least I think so. But if I do take it, then I would be charging into the unknown, as I would have completely changed the plot. If I leave it, I would know what would happen and can act from there, a much safer option. But the victims… Well, they won't die or anything. Still, would it be wrong to just let them be petrified?

I was so distracted by my thoughts that I didn't notice Draco come up to me. "Oi! If you keep frowning like that, you'll get wrinkles by the time you're fifteen," he whispered while poking my forehead.

"Oh, I didn't realise…" I trailed off, eyes still glued to Ginny's cauldron. Or rather, the thing inside her cauldron. Draco raised an eyebrow at my lack of reaction. Usually I would swat his hand away and jab his sides but right now I've got different priorities.

Gesturing Draco to keep quiet, I looked around to make sure no one was watching and cautiously reached into Ginny's cauldron for the black book and slipped it into my bag. Then, I casually walked away and towards Mother. I tugged at her robes and looked pointedly at her. Getting the message, she patted her husband's arm gently. One or two minutes later, the bell at Flourish and Blotts' door chimed cheerfully.

"Ah, the Malfoy family. Eighteen inches, elm and dragon heartstring if I recall?" Garrick Ollivander looked at Father from behind his counter. "Ten inches, hawthorn and unicorn hair," he continued, looking at Draco. "And I believe you purchased your wand in another country… America, perhaps?" Mother nodded warily.

He then turned to me. "And who is this? A new addition to the Malfoy family… Drinah Narcissa Malfoy, am I wrong?" Wow, creepy much? Without giving us time to demand he tell us his sources, he walked swiftly to the many shelves in the shop. Among all the boxes containing wands, he picked one and handed it to me.

"Now, give a little wave," he instructed. I did as told and a shelf a few meters before me collapsed. Ollivander shook his head and snatched the wand away from me. He picked another box and thrust the wand into my hands. Waving it again, a light bulb exploded. This went on a few more times. By my eighth try, I could tell Ollivander was getting frustrated. He probably hates me for making him lose face in front of my family.

"This. Wave it." Finally, gold sparkles shot out of the wand. Ollivander's relieved face almost made me cackle.

"Ah, one of my most tricky customers eh? Twelve and half inches, spruce and dragon heartstring core. Rigid. Interesting…" At my curious gaze, he chuckled quietly but said nothing.

We paid for my wand and left the wand shop. I threw a quick glance at Ollivander, only to see him smiling at me. I shivered involuntarily. Creepy old man.

 _Curious, indeed..._

* * *

 **A/N: Haha sorry for not updating in a long time. Real life is so hectic. Sigh. But now it's the holidays so hopefully more time to write. And I may or may not have been procrastinating and being lazy but you don't really need to know that.**

 **Thank you thank you to everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed my crappy story! It makes me feel better about myself :D**

 **Also, I hope you all don't get too upset about which house Drinah will end up in. It's not Ravenclaw, sorry. Don't kill me.**

 **Until next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: GUESS WHAT YA'LL. I had enough of fillers and Drinah is going to Hogwarts today. YAY! Thank you guys for your support and all. It gives me POWER and HAPPINESS and makes me feel so YOUTHFUL. Cough. Really means a lot though :)**

 **Chapter Six**

The moment I was alone in my bedroom, I plucked the black book out of my bag and sat on my carpeted floor. No way am I letting the book on my bed, no siree. Who knows where it has been…

Just as I was about to flip the book open, I heard a thud from the room above me.

Right, not alone in the house. Gotta lock the door. Once that was done, I bit my lip and inched the book open. This is it, I thought.

The pages of the book were worn at the edges and there was a yellow-brown hue to it. Kinda looks like dog faeces. Oh… Now I can't get the image out of my mind.

Ignoring that thought, I picked up a random quill and… drew a cartoon poop. My only thought when my drawing faded was: Woah, this is cooler and creepier in real life. Tell me, how does magic work again?

I waited for a reply.

…And waited. Hmm seems like Tommy here doesn't know what to make of my drawing.

 **Who are you?** The words appeared on the yellow-stained page.

Straight to the point, eh? What a party pooper. I picked up my quill, ready to respond with something like 'I am Lord Voldie-smore' when a thought hit me and I faltered. 'Doesn't he get stronger when someone writes in this book?' which was quickly followed by 'oh shit, I'm writing in this book and gonna get my soul zapped. I knew I was forgetting something!'

"Then again, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I shouldn't let it go to waste…" I said to myself. With renewed confidence, I began to write. "I'm so gonna regret this."

 _ **I am…** _ I paused.

 ** _My name is Drinah._**

 **Pleasure to meet you, Drinah. My name is Tom. If I may, what is your family name?**

I snorted. If he thinks I will give him my family name willy-nilly then he's got something coming.

 _ **It's Anstance.** _ The words sunk into the pages and there was a brief pause, as if he was thinking of what to reply.

 **Are you from a non-wizarding family? I do not believe I have heard of your family.** I rolled my eyes. He could have written 'are you a muggle-born? 'Cause I'm a slimy git who doesn't care for muggles' and I wouldn't have minded. Eventually, they all mean the same thing. I wanted to write something sarcastic back but I need to play the naive little girl.

 _ **Yeah! How did you know? How did you know I was a witch?**_ , I added as an afterthought.

 **I guessed.** I scoffed. I totally believe you, Tom. Completely and utterly believe you.

And because I'm a somewhat reckless idiot at times with this being one of them, I wrote something I'm still busting brain cells over.

 _ **I would appreciate it if you would stop acting like a 'good boy', Tommy. It doesn't suit you. In fact, it's quite disturbing.**_

And there was no reply. I waited a few more minutes, impatiently tapping my quill on the floor.

The pages remained blank.

"I'm gonna strangle you, Tommy. No one ditches me and gets away with it," I snarled at the cursed book.

Man, do I love my puns.

* * *

It has been a few hours since I first wrote in the book, and Tom did, in fact, reply back when I flipped open the book an hour later.

 **What do you mean?**

I stared incredulously at the writing.

 ** _Haha I was only joking. Just wanted to see your reaction._**

Tom seemed to have accepted this and did not press any further.

 _ **What do you think of Christmas?**_

He started to rant about that topic and I occasionally wrote my views. Before I knew it, the meal bell rang.

 _ **Going to have dinner. Baii.**_

I shoved the book in between a pile of papers and books and hurried to the dining hall.

My stomach growled noisily as the smell of food, glorious food, overwhelmed my senses. I ran the moment I saw the doors to the dining hall, almost crashing into a servant carrying bowls of soup. The servant let out an unmanly squeal but fortunately did not spill anything. Just think of the precious food that goes to waste. How dreadful.

I yelled an apology to him but my speed slowed considerably. Wouldn't want to hurt anyone. Or the food.

Draco and Mother were already seated at the table and Father was nowhere to be seen as usual. I pulled out a chair and flopped onto it, feeling slightly out of breath. I really need to start jogging again. I haven't trained in two weeks because of my laziness. Ugh, so troublesome. I don't even know why I started in the first place or why I still do it. Let it be said that laziness has always been my strongest point in both lifetimes. That and my need for things to be neat and orderly, illness or not.

"Hey, my friends! What's for dinner?" I greeted cheerfully.

"You're late! What were you doing up there? Digging a hole to China?" Draco snarked.

"No I wasn't and it's really none of your business," I retorted.

"Children, do not fight. And Drinah, we are not friends, but family. Why were you so late though? It's not polite to keep others waiting," Mother chided.

"I was writing," I answered vaguely. "Can we eat yet? I'm really hungry."

Mother nodded. I was about to start piling food on my plate when…

"WAIT!" Draco shouted.

"What," I said in annoyance. Nobody, and I mean nobody, deprives me of food and walks away unscathed.

"Where is Father? Why isn't he here with us?"

"Your father is… busy with his work and is unable to join us today," Mother explained.

"Today? Or do you mean every day. He never makes time for us! All he does is work, work, work, and more work. It's like he doesn't even care!" Draco's outburst left us shocked. Well, Mother was shocked. My mind was now full of the lyrics to 'Work', Rihanna's song. Work, work, work, work, work. He said me have to…

Sorry, this happens a lot. You'll get used to it, don't worry. (Be happy.) Ah, it will never stop.

I managed to stop myself from humming 'can't stop this feeling'. That song is just… so - sorry, almost squealed.

Mother looked disapprovingly at Draco. "Draco, your father is a very busy man. His work is important as he is the head of the Malfoy family and as the Malfoy heir, you will have to take on these responsibilities when you are older. Surely you can understand this?" Seeing my brother's sullen expression, her eyes softened. "Your father may not always be able to have meals with us, but that does not mean he does not care for us. As I have said, he is a busy man but he still makes an effort to join us for meals when he is able to. Please try to understand that it is not that he does not care," Mother said gently. I could tell that she feels rather… hurt by Father's absence as well. This isn't good. Sigh, family issues are so troublesome.

"Guys, can we eat already? I'm staaaarving," I whined, trying to break the whatever-it-is atmosphere. Almost as if I flipped a switch, Draco dug into his food with gusto with Mother not far behind but with more elegance and less flying bits. Or none at all. Draco eats like a chicken and Mother like a vacuum machine. A dainty and neat vacuum machine.

I followed their example, scooping a few spoonfuls of macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and honey roasted chicken. I have never been fond of eating meat and Mother had to force me to eat some. Ever since I tried our honey roasted chicken, I was in love. All the food made by our house elves tasted so incredible that I had no words to describe it in detail.

"Oh!" Draco suddenly exclaimed. Mother and I looked at him curiously. "Say, Drinah, who's Tommy?"

I choked on my soup of clam chowder. "N-no o-one! None of ya business!" I said between coughs.

"Wow, you sure clammed up pretty quickly," Draco remarked slyly. This time, Mother's nearly bugged out of her head.

* * *

"Oh my gosh I can't believe I'm actually going to Hogwarts," I squealed, jumping around excitedly as my brother tried fruitlessly to calm me down.

We, my family and I(yes, Father was there too), are at King's Cross Station. Today was the start of a new school year so the station was a lot more crowded than usual with many people, muggles and wizards alike, milling around getting from one end to another.

"Hurry Drinah, or we will leave you behind." I caught up to my family and grasped my mother's hand. Father and Draco were leading the way with Draco pushing his trolley and Father pushing mine. Both trolleys had an owl's cage stacked neatly at the top.

"Ready?" I nodded my head. Father ran at the pillar and passed through it with ease and was followed by Draco.

"Remember to believe," Mother said and nudged me forward. I bit my lip nervously and rushed the pillar.

When I opened my eyes(huh, when did they close?), I greedily drank in the sight I had been waiting to see for years. Here I am at Platform 9 and three-quarters with the Hogwarts train sitting majestically in front of me. I wouldn't have believed it was real if I hadn't been living here for eleven years.

"Amazing isn't it?" I turned and one of the Weasley twins greeted me cheerfully. "If you don't close your mouth, it's gonna become a lair for flies." My mouth clicked shut.

"I - you - w-what?" I stuttered. My mind has left me to take a walk, so it seems.

"What, you forgot-"

"-us already?" The twins looked mildly offended. I shook my head vehemently.

"Why…why are you talking to me?" I said in a small voice.

"'Coz you're our friend!" The twins said. I was taken aback. I thought they wouldn't want anything to do with me? Especially after that day in Flourish and Blotts…

"A promise-"

"-is a promise, remember?" Seeing my blank expression, one of them clarified, "We were supposed to wreck havoc at Hogwarts, remember?" Ah, I completely forgot.

"R-right. About that… I can't." The twins opened their mouths to protest but I cut them off before they could. "I mean, I could but I can't get caught. I have a reputation to uphold for my family and if word gets out that I'm planning and causing mayhem and all that, it will be bad. Really, really bad. So I thought I could be like your secret agent or something…" I trailed off uncertainly.

The twins flashed me blinding smiles and one of them patted my head. "That's a great idea! Good good, for a moment we thought you backed out. Now that this is settled, we'll see you later at the Gryffindor table!" They raced off before I could protest that, "I'm not…going to Gryffindor…"

The train's whistle rang out and I flinched at the loud sound. Hearing Draco's call, I ran towards my brother who was waving his arms wildly. Mother frowned from beside him when he nearly slapped a passerby's face.

The train's whistle rang out and I flinched at the loud sound. Hearing Draco's call, I ran towards my brother who was waving his arms wildly. Mother frowned from beside him when he nearly slapped a passerby's face.

"It's time," Father said. "Your trunks are already loaded. Be on your best behaviour at Hogwarts. Keep in mind that we have a reputation to maintain and both of you best not ruin it. Other than that, have...fun and we will see you for Christmas." Father's expression looked slightly pained when he said 'fun'. Draco and I bid our parents farewell and boarded the train.

Due to my little interaction with the twins, we were one of the last to board the train so most of the cabins were already occupied.

"Come on, let's see if Crabbe and Goyle managed to get a cabin." At their names, I cringed.

"Can we please not sit with them for once? Or maybe ever?" I pleaded. Draco sighed and ran a hand through his neatly combed back hair.

"I don't want to either," Draco confessed. "But if there aren't any available cabins, we just have to make do with them even if we might catch their stupidity. That's what they are good for, anyway."

I feigned confusion. "They are good for making people catch their stupidity?"

"No!" Seeing my smile, he rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean, Drinah. Now hurry up and find a seat."

"Aye aye captain."

In the end, Crabbe and Goyle were nowhere to be found and we ended up sharing a cabin with a first-year. The first year, whose name I learned was Galen Aldrich, made small talk with me. I felt awkward at first as I was never good at meeting new people but I found myself relaxing after a while. How could I not, when the boy practically exuded an aura of serenity? Galen doesn't talk all that much either so Draco makes up for that. Strangely enough, Draco kept glaring at Galen whenever he speaks to me.

I was shaken awake by my brother when we arrived. Hm, when did I fall asleep?

"We are here," Galen's silvery voice announced. We exited the cabin and followed the direction where all the other students are headed to.

"Firs'-years! Firs'-years! Gather 'round o'er 'ere! Come on, don' be shy!" Hagrid's voice boomed over the students' chatter. I waved goodbye to Draco. Galen led me by my elbow to where Hagrid was. On the way, I saw a head of long, flaming red hair.

"A'ight. Now we jus' sit 'ere in them boats. Four in every boat," Hagrid instructed. Once everyone was seated, each boat with their own lamp, the boats floated away from the station and towards a fog.

When the fog parted, a large castle lit up by a few lights came into view. Everyone was oohing and aahing at the sight and even Galen let out a breathy 'woah'.

When the boats docked at Hogwarts, Hagrid knocked three times on the castle door. Professor McGonagall greeted us and led us across the Entrance Hall while we, the first-years, drank in the magnificent sight of the interior of the castle.

As we approached the Great Hall- which was where all the noise was from-, I felt butterflies in my stomach. Sensing my anxiety, Galen nudged me and whispered, "Don't worry, Drinah. You'll be fine. Heck, even I'm nervous but try not to have a panic attack, alright?" I nodded stiffly.

Professor McGonagall pushed open the doors to an empty room beside the Great Hall and ushered us in. We crowded together, some looking around nervously and tugging at their sleeves or collars. Professor McGonagall explained to us about the Sorting Ceremony and it's importance and about the four houses(Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin) that we each would be sorted into. She told us about house points and the awarding of the House Cup to the house with the most points at the end of the year. Finally, she suggested we tidy ourselves up as the Sorting Ceremony would begin soon and that we wouldn't want to "make a foolery of yourselves in front of the rest of the school" before leaving the room.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, there were screams. I stared at the silvery and semi-transparent ghosts that passed through the walls, gliding through and above us. The unlucky ones that had ghosts pass through them shivered violently, fear evident in their eyes. Some of the ghosts waved cheerfully at us while others ignored us. Just then, Professor McGonagall entered the room again.

"Out! The Sorting Ceremony is about to begin," she barked. The ghosts grumbled but left without incidence. The professor ordered us to form a line and beckoned us to follow her.

Professor McGonagall pushed open the double doors of the Great Hall and led us to the top of the hall in front of the teacher's table. The noise of voices over voices overwhelmed me, causing me to stumble back momentarily. Galen poked my forehead and I exhaled. Right, I need to calm down and ignore the noise. I mouthed a thanks to him and prepared for the Sorting Ceremony - also known as my doom.

The bewitched ceiling of the Great Hall resembled the night sky, with many stars winking at us from above. Moments later, a tiny wizard with white hair scampered into the room, carrying with him a stool and an ancient looking hat sitting above the stool. The wizard, probably Professor Flitwick, placed the stool at the front of us and set the Sorting Hat on top. Then began the Sorting song, by which the hall had gone silent except for the hat's voice. The hall burst into applause and whistles at the end of the song.

Professor McGonagall started calling names from a roll of parchment.

"Abbott, Matilda!" A small blonde haired girl strode forward and put on the hat.

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat boomed. The Ravenclaw table burst into applause as Matilda sat at the table. Well, that's new. Never knew there was a Matilda Abbott…

"Aldrich, Galen!" Professor McGonagall called again. I patted Galen's arm for good luck.

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat shouted and once again, the Ravenclaw table applauded and cheered.

Before I knew it, my then came.

"Malfoy, Drinah!"

My heart thudded loudly and I felt nauseous all of a sudden. I glanced at Galen who gave me a reassuring smile and walked as confidently as possible to the stool and put the hat on.

"Oh, what's this? Interesting past you have there…"

I gulped nervously and thought, "Please don't tell anyone. It would be terrible."

"Interesting year, eh? First a seer, then a reincarnated soul…do not fret, child. Your secret is safe with me. Now where to put you? Decisions, decisions. Such a difficult child you are!" the hat chuckled. Well, I didn't mind anything as long as I wasn't house-less.

"Hmm…a love for reading and learning new things but impatient. Quite a bit of determination you have there and - oh! A wee bit manipulative aren't you? A long term illness in the past… Plenty of chivalry, though a different sort. Decisions, decisions… Ah well, no matter. I foresee you will meddle with time no matter where I put you. Hopefully you survive your family's wrath!" The hat cheerfully said that last bit and screamed, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

The silence in the hall was deafening. I shakily took the hat off and stumbled to the Hufflepuff table, with my thought being that the Sorting Hat was a very bad, very evil and very sadistic old hat.

At my arrival, they applauded and cheered loudly. Gee, Hufflepuffs and their loyalty. Slowly, the rest of the hall clapped. The sorting continued on until "Weasley, Ginerva!" was placed into Gryffindor and that was all. The stool and Sorting Hat were then taken away.

A minute or two later, an elderly man wearing half-moon spectacles strode on the platform and used a teaspoon to tap a goblet. The 'ding' sound captured everyone's attention and the voices in the hall ceased.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! Before we begin the feast, let me say a few words: Flintwix! Gumber! Honder! Sheeks! Now, let the feast begin!"

Feeling self-conscious, I carefully scooped some food onto my plate, trying to blend into my surroundings. Maybe, if I ignore everyone and not make eye contact, they will ignore me-

"Hey! You're Draco Malfoy's sister aren't you?" A boy across me asked. Immediately, all heads turned to stare at me. I froze before nodding hesitantly.

Another girl narrowed her eyes at me. "But you're so…and he's so…"

…I'm not sure I want to know what she blanked out.

"Well," the first boy spoke up, "I'm Justin Finch-Fetchley."

"And I'm Hannah Abbott. Matilda's my sister," the girl piped up. "If you need any help, feel free to ask me!" She flashed me a smile before resuming eating. After a while, the stares lessened and I found myself relaxing and getting lost in the chatter of the Great Hall.

I found my gaze drifting to the Gryffindor table where the Weasleys were at - wait. Wait, wait, wait. Is that Harry Potter? And Ron Weasley? Are they supposed to be here or did I miss his grand entry? Weren't they were supposed to skip the feast because of them getting nearly expelled with the whole Whomping Willow gimmick? Argh, now I'm confused. This is so troublesome. The _whole plot_ is troublesome. Fine, maybe I'll seek out the twins later for some information.

After the feast, Dumbledore stood up one last time to conduct the school song which I mouthed the words to before shooing us to bed.

"First-years follow me. My name is Gabriel Truman, sixth-year prefect and this," Gabriel pointed to the girl beside him, "is Renee Carmen." The prefect duo led us out the Great Hall and down some marble steps on the left of the Entrance Hall and then through a brightly lit corridor before stopping in front of many barrels.

"This is the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room which you will be spending a fair bit of time in. To enter, tap the barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row, to the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff'. Tapping the wrong rhythm or barrel will result in a barrel full of vinegar being doused on you so I suggest you remember this," Gabriel said.

Pointing to the left, he said, "That over there is the kitchen. If you must know, you have to tickle the pear in the portrait to enter the kitchen." Gabriel used his wand to tap the barrel to the correct rhythm and the lid of the large barrel swung open, revealing a stone staircase that leads downwards.

Gabriel jerked his head in a sign to follow him and down we went, with Renee trailing behind us.

Gabriel swept his hand towards the common room. "Welcome to the Hufflepuff common room. Enjoy your stay." He grinned at our awed faces.

The Hufflepuff common room was perfect. From the lighting to the soft carpeting covering the wooden flooring, it was completely and utterly perfect. Since it was night, the room was lit up by yellow lights, casting the common room in a warm and cozy light.

Gabriel directed the boys through a door on the left to their dormitory and Renee directed us to the right. The rest of the girls and I parted ways to our respective rooms. Though I would have loved to check out my new roommates, I was too tired and the moment I changed to my sleeping robes, I dove under the covers and it was lights out for me.

* * *

 **A/N: What's this? An update? YAY. And what's that? Drinah went to Hufflepuff? Yeah!**

 **Omgomgomg don't kill me.**

 **Kinda curious though...what do you guys think of Drinah's relationship with the people she met? (E.g her family, Draco, Weasleys, Galen) ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: THANK YOU ALL FOR READING THIS. I'm an amateur writer who does not beta my chappies so it comes out horrible. I'm happy right now. This chapter was also really hard to write so sorry for the long delay... Without further ado, enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: As always, Harry Potter does not belong to me. Sniff. FRED! TONKS! LUPIN! SIRIUS! Sniff.**

 **Chapter Seven**

"Oi, wake up." I was shaken awake by someone. I swatted the hand away angrily and mumbled incoherently.

The hands came again, shaking me roughly. I let out an angry noise and instinctively lashed out at the annoyance using my legs. My foot collided with someone who let out an "oof-" and then there was a thump. The person I kicked muttered something that sounded like an "ow…" and I felt something stir guiltily within me. I forced myself awake and was greeted by the sight of a dark haired girl sitting on the floor with a disgruntled expression on her face.

"S-sorry! Sorrysorrysorry! I tend to get umm…violent in the mornings or when I sleeporwhenIwakeupsorryareyou alright?!" I rambled, waving my arms wildly.

An annoyance flashed across her tan features briefly before settling into a blank slate. "You know, you'll do more good by helping me up and not acting like an idiot," she deadpanned.

"Oh r-right," I said sheepishly, pulling her up to a standing position. While she dusted herself off, I observed her.

Her dark hair was cut into a bob and her skin was an olive tone, something I admit I may be a _little_ jealous of. Just a little. Perched on top of her button nose was a pair of black spectacles with rectangular-shaped lenses. Her average and slouched stature made her look shorter than she is and she was also wearing the Hufflepuff robes…

"AH. I forgot about lessons! Stupid-" I cursed at myself, practically leaping out of bed and grabbing my robes from my trunk before whizzing past my roommate -I'm assuming she is- and into the bathroom. I hurriedly brushed my teeth, washed my face and changed into my school robes at breakneck speed, only slowing down at the yellow-black tie where I fumbled with it and then burst out of the bathroom, grabbed my comb and dashed towards the shared dresser and started to furiously brush my blonde hair into a ponytail.

Once all that was done, I grabbed all my necessary books for the day and shoved them into a black carrier and declared myself ready to go. Slinging my bag across my torso, I walked towards the exit.

Only to be stopped by the bespectacled girl. She stood in front of the doorway, blocking the exit, with an irritated expression on her face.

"Geez what are you, an old lady? No scratch that, even my grandma can clean up faster than you," she sighed. "And neater, too," she added.

I felt a surge of anger which I quickly stamped down. Curving my lips to a pleasant smile, I said, "Good morning to you too, and I think I look neat enough, considering I was rushing, though I can't say the same for you."

The girl frowned but said, "My name is Eleanor Treereal. Just call me Eleanor. No nicknames or I'll punch you. It gets confusing with two Treereals here so don't call me by last name."

I hummed in response, only half listening by then. I feel like I forgot something… Neville's remembrall would be useful right now.

I glanced around the room and my gaze landed on a pocket watch lying in my trunk. Merlin, I don't know what I would do without my watch.

Eleanor and I left the room after my mad dash for my watch("It's just a _watch_. Close your trunk!") and we went up for breakfast. Apparently everyone else was already at the Great Hall except for a few and my other roommates went ahead while Eleanor stayed behind to wake me. I guess she's okay. First impressions don't mean much once you get to know the person, right?

The Great Hall was buzzing with noise, the giggling and chattering of students echoing throughout the hall. I winced at the loudness but soldiered on towards the Hufflepuff table.

"Hey," I heard Eleanor shout above the din.

I jerked my head to indicate her to speak.

"What's wrong with you?"

I blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Eleanor huffed impatiently. "I meant, why do you keep flinching at the noise? I noticed that yesterday too. It's not even that loud."

"I have sensitive hearing," I said.

"What are you, a princess? An overpowered witch?" she rolled her eyes. "Gee, I know you're a 'direct descendant' of the Malfoy line or something, but super hearing? Merlin, that's so cliché," she said snootily, adding quotation marks when she said 'direct descendant'.

I frowned and willed myself not to snap at her. Didn't she hear a thing I said? "I said _sensitive_ hearing. Not _enhanced_ hearing. There's a difference, you know," I snapped, unable to hold back the anger and annoyance I felt. Well, that came out meaner than I had intended.

I forced a small smile at her to soften the blow. Wouldn't want to make enemies after all.

"Yeah, whatever."

I bristled at her remark. Okay Drinah, calm your beard down. No need to make a fuss about a small matter. _This is no small thing!_ the voice in my head protested which I pretended not to hear.

Eleanor and I sat down at the Hufflepuff table. She sat beside another dark haired girl while I slid in between her and a sixth-year boy. Or fifth. Meh.

"Drinah, meet your other roommates. Adeline Rosebloom," she pointed to the girl beside her, "and Hailey Lightfish." she pointed to a blonde across her.

"Ah, nice to meet you," Adeline said politely, a small smile on her face.

"Hi! I'm Hailey! Let's be friends!" Hailey chirped from across us. I raised an eyebrow at her…cheerfulness in the morning.

"Don't mind Hailey. She's always bubbly. There's no turn off button for her," Eleanor sighed.

I cracked a smile at this. "Let's eat," I said to Eleanor. Our breakfast was french toast, scrambled eggs, sausages, mushroom soup, bread and butter pudding, pumpkin juice, and some others I did not recognise.

Mm this is _good_.

"What do we have today?" Adeline asked. I swallowed my food.

"We've got double Potions with Ravenclaw first, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology and then Transfiguration," I recited.

Hailey squealed. "I can't wait for lessons! Though I don't really want Professor Snape, but this is gonna be awesome!" Hailey bounced up and down on her seat. "Oh! Oh! And double DADA!"

"Do you know," Adeline started, "That the DADA position is rumoured to be cursed? Not a single professor that took up the teaching post has lasted more than a year."

Hailey's eyes grew as big as saucers. "Wait!" She half-yelled. "Why is it cursed? And is that Goldilocks man with that yucky face the new DADA professor? He looks really...weird," she finished lamely.

"Hailey, it's not nice to insult the new teacher," Adeline scolded. Hailey ignored her.

A new voice spoke up from beside me. "I heard that an ex-student cursed the position when he was refused it."

Ours heads turned towards the speaker and I cringed. I was hoping he wouldn't speak but then again luck is never on my side.

"It's just a rumour, nothing to worry about," Cedric reassured with a charming smile. "That professor with a 'yucky face' is Professor Gilderoy Lockhart. He's famous but personally I think he's a bit of a dunderhead."

Hailey giggled at this while Adeline frowned disapprovingly. Eleanor noticed this and smirked.

"Does little Adeline fancy the new professor?" She teased.

Adeline's face took on an alarming shade of pink.

"Yes! I mean - no - that is - so what!" She cried out. Eleanor cackled at her reaction and Hailey and her continued to tease her mercilessly, all the while Adeline's face was steadily taking on a reddish hue as she tried and failed to dissuade Eleanor from thinking she fancied Goldilocks. The moment was so adorable that I found a smile creeping onto my face.

"Well, I believe we should head to our classes now," Cedric said. "It was nice to meet you all. Good luck on your first day!" He waved goodbye and sent a smile our way before leaving.

Agreeing with Cedric's decision, we gathered our things, took one last sip of pumpkin juice(rather, Hailey downed everything like she was drinking butterbeer), and we navigated our way to the dungeons.

* * *

After getting lost about three times("Ya know what they say: third time's the charm!" Or so Hailey claimed), we finally arrived at the potions classroom. Hn, I'm getting strange vibes right here.

Professor Snape was already at the front of the classroom, his cold and calculative gaze surveying those in his holy presence.

Mind the sarcasm, thanks.

There was a long period of silence and general sombreness, as if we'd just entered a funeral parlor. I felt shivers up my spine. I knew we weren't late, one minute early in fact, but that stare - I decided to arrive at class at least five minutes earlier in the future.

Well, at least we weren't the last. Hailey and I cautiously proceeded to our seats, as if a single misstep might incite the Snape-Snake to pounce on us. As we sat down, we heard the extraordinarily loud pitter-patter of panicked footsteps headed for our classroom.

A girl with messy blonde hair and a scrunched-up expression tripped into the classroom and fell flat on her face. Her books spilled out of her hands. Calmly, she gathered them up again.

" _Tempus_ ," she casted, and, upon seeing that she was early by a second, greeted Professor Snape with an unbothered smile. "Good morning Professor!"

Professor Snape had a dark look on his face, and looked like he was about to spit out some poisonous retort.

"I was attacked by a dreadful swarm of Nargles this morning. They stole my books and shoes, and after searching through their nests, I was able to recover my potions books but my shoes were unfortunately eaten."

With that, she glided to her desk with a dreamy expression on her face. I noticed she was shoeless. And it appears that Galen, her seat partner, is on friendly terms with her.

Silence. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Professor Snape sneered. "And these… _Nargles_ are the reason for your unpunctuality Ms…?"

"Lovegood," Luna chirped.

"Your paltry excuses are invalid. Even a complete, utter, dunderhead would know that Nargles simply do not exist. Detention at four o'clock in the afternoon this Friday, I believe, Ms Lovegood. Do try to be punctual this time," he said silkily.

Luna frowned. "But Nargles are real! They're creatures that possess humans and feed on their unhappiness, trying their best to make others unhappy too so that they -"

"This pack of Nargles wear blue at the moment I presume?" Professor Snape said sharply all of a sudden.

Luna was positively delighted. "Why, yes!"

"I see," he said in a contemplative tone.

I was barely listening at this point, instead choosing to take note of the potion master's profile, noting with slight amusement how he still has the same hook-like nose and dark and stringy, greasy-looking hair. Mentally, I made a note to myself to never come into close contact with him, especially his hair.

I tuned back in to hear him say, "I can teach you many things about the art of potion-making - if you aren't as big a bunch of idiots I usually have to teach."

Well, no wonder his hair is like that. No offense, that is. Mother always said that hair is one of the most telling traits of a person. More importantly, a stressed person. Somehow I'm not surprised that Professor Snape is this stressed. Poor guy having to deal with all the 'idiots' that melt or destroy their cauldrons left and right. I wonder if Professor Snape tears his hair out secretly. It would explain his… lack of hair. Not that he's bald, of course, but you know what I mean.

"Today, you will be working on a simple potion to cure boils," Professor Snape continued. "I expect decent potions when you are finished. If you follow the instructions, there should be no incidence. What are you staring for? Get to work!" Professor Snape barked out the last part.

Everyone jolted in shock and rushed to gathered the necessary ingredients for the making of the potion. I waved at Galen who was sitting Hailey, my seat partner, hummed cheerfully while her hands darted left and right, snatching ingredients quickly and efficiently and made her way back to her seat beside me.

"That was quick," I commented. Hailey just smiled.

We started work immediately, wanting to complete the potion before class ends.

"Next, add four horned slugs." I did as instructed, eyes focused on the stirring of the mixture.

We continued on like this for the rest of the lesson; her reading the instructions and preparing the ingredients, and me adding the ingredients to the cauldron and stirring.

"Add the two porcupine quills - wait! Take the cauldron off the fire first!" Hailey warned. I jerked my arm back before I could add the porcupine quills that would cost us everything. I was aware of Professor Snape eyeing us from across.

Arms shaking slightly in effort, I removed the cauldron from the hot fire and gently lowered it to the table. Hailey and I let out a relieved sigh and exchanged small grins. I proceeded to drop in the porcupine quills. Hailey finished the potion with a wave of her wand and we filled a small bottle with our potion. She handed me the bottle, silently telling me to hand in the potion to Professor Snape. I grimaced but strode as confidently as possible to the professor. I saw Hailey give a thumbs up to me from the corner of my eye and I huffed. She should just do this herself, tsk.

As I was nearing the professor, I had the urge to pick at my fingers. The look he was giving me… It was as if I was just an annoying bug. No, that's not it. The look was so cold and dark. Like bottomless pits of plain darkness. I felt goosebumps and shivered ever so slightly.

"Uh Professor Snape, here's our - here's our potion. For the boils. The cure." I slapped myself. Mentally. Way to go for first impressions, Drinah. You sounded like a complete moron out there. Just kill me already - oh wait.

"Yes, Miss Malfoy. I was not aware that I was... retarded. Nor that you were, for that matter," Professor Snape drawled, staring down at me. "If you want to speak, do try to get your points across clearly and efficiently, lest you become a blubbering fool and cause unnecessary misunderstandings."

I felt the eyes of everyone on me and I blushed in mortification and embarrassment and perhaps a hint of anger. How could he humiliate me in front of everyone like this? Stubbornly ignoring the lump in my throat and the burning feeling rising from the pits of my stomach, I plastered a small smile on my face.

"Haha, sorry Professor Snape. I'll - I'll keep that in mind." My expression became that of a sheepish and chastised child. Satisfied, he snatched the bottle from me, took one look at it, and pocketed it.

Taking that as a dismissal, I scampered back to my seat, trying to ignore the burning holes into my back.

"Well," Hailey began hesitantly when I plonked myself down on my stool. "That went... splendidly!"

I stared incredulously at her. "Splendidly? More like horribly! I'm doomed! My future is doomed, my social life is doomed, my interactions with Professor Snape are doomed. I'm dead!" I wailed, burying my head into my folded arms.

Her oh-so-helpful response was to poke my forehead and say teasingly, "interactions?"

I shot her a dark look in response.

Walking out of the potions classroom later, I did not notice the confused look cast at me by a certain blonde-haired girl.

* * *

DADA passed by rather uneventfully. Lockhart's class was exactly like I had expected. Boring, boring, boring. All he did was talk about himself and his 'glorious achievements' and I could not help but doze off. Herbology was interesting, though. The first few minutes of the lesson was spent on the do's and don'ts when in the greenhouse, like every other lesson when you first enter the lab. Today, we learnt about Asphodel and its uses and prepared a powdered root of Asphodel per pair. Kind of reminded me of a mix of Home Economics and Biology. I also found myself taking a liking to Professor Sprout. She was kind and had this warm and friendly aura around her and was also really good at teaching. I admit that I did poorly in academics, especially my Math and Sciences in my previous life. And even though I was prohibited from doing any form of exercise(including taking the stairs, which was ridiculous and overkill) I had always longed to be able to jump and run like the others and wished to be able to tumble and flip like those gymnasts. In fact, had I been able to be like a normal, _healthy_ , child, I'm certain that I would have done much better in the physical aspects than academic.

I would say I was a borderline average student, scoring C's without studying, and on the rare occasions that I did study(read: when the test is important or my parents out for my blood), I usually scored B's and occasionally A's. But then again, my definition of 'studying' is cramming information at most three days before the test.

...Yeah, I really hate studying if you haven't figured, or I'm just really lazy. Take your pick. Either way, I died and now I have to take more tests and- argh. Take my soul now, please!

"What do you think we're learning today?" I whispered to Eleanor. She gave me a shrug and I turned my attention back to Professor McGonagall. Rather, what was supposed to be Professor McGonagall, as sitting on the teacher's desk was a tabby cat that was watching us like a hawk. She was still, the only sign of her being alive was the flickering of her eyes. Basically she looked like the petrified version of Mrs Norris.

 _Mrs Norris 2.0_ , I thought and had to keep myself from giggling. Noticing my shaking body, Eleanor turned to me with an unimpressed look, silently ordering me to chill out. The tabby cat jumped down from the desk and materialised into Professor McGonagall, eliciting gasps from everyone except Eleanor and I.

"Ooh dramatic entry," I snickered to myself and Eleanor smirked.

The professor began an introduction to transfiguration which I tuned out unintentionally for a while. Instead, my gaze drifted around the entire classroom with my mind on a vacation to 'Mount Random Music'. By the time I realised I had tuned her out, the lecture, uh... I mean the introduction, was already over. She drew her wand from a magic compartment in her robes and turned a match which she had procured from within her robes into a needle.

"In Transfiguration, there is a lot of theory involved. Do not expect to wave your wand and instantly succeed in transfiguring it."

 _Oh, snap. There's theory_ , I grimaced.

"And theory," Professor McGonagall went on, "is what we will be touching on today for the majority of the lesson. We will be turning matchsticks," she gestured to the matches on her table, "into-"

She waved her wand and every single matchstick turned into sleek and thin bodies with sharp tips and silver hues. "Needles," she finished, and with a flick of her wand, the needles returned to their original form.

" _Show off_ ," a Hufflepuff behind me muttered. If Professor McGonagall heard him, she didn't react.

"Now, I expect you all to jot down what I say. There will be no repeats. If you need clarification, seek me out after the lesson."

With a sigh, I resigned myself to an hour of hand cramping, brain mushing and slapping myself awake.

"Magic is not just about feeling, imagining and your emotions. There are also the laws of Magic and the amount of Magic poured into and out your wand to remember. Too much Magic, and you may end up with something entirely different while too little… do not be surprised if your 'needle' is just a well decorated piece of wood. The laws of Magic is the most important in all types of spellwork. They are the 'rules' and make up the existence of all things magical and should not be taken lightly. Play around with it, and you can count yourself lucky that you only lose a limb or two.

In Transfiguration, we will focus on the laws of Magic, the volume and filtration of Magic and making it obey and bend to your commands. Now, for turning your matchstick into a needle successfully, you have to…"

After what seemed like hours has passed, we finally got to the wand-waving component. Beside me, Eleanor narrowed her eyes in concentration, and with a flick of her wand, her matchstick turned into-

"Merlin, what is _wrong_ with this piece of - _ugh_!" Eleanor growled in frustration. I stifled my laughter when I saw that her matchstick had sagged out of shape and was a strange shade of colour.

She scowled at me. "Since you think this is easy, why don't you do it?"

"That is not a very good idea… I was only half listening you know. You did much better," I cringed.

Eleanor huffed and said, "Just do it already!"

I bit my lip and pointed my wand towards the matchstick. "Just so you know, this is not going to work…" Concentrating on the tingling feeling, I directed my Magic to flow steadily into my wand and attempted to 'filter' it before releasing it.

We stared at the matchstick.

"...Are you sure you did anything?"

"Of course!" I cried out.

"Maybe we should ask Professor McGonagall," Eleanor suggested.

Professor McGonagall rounded on us when I raised my hand and shot us a questioning look. After we explained the situation to her, she sighed.

"How did you feel when you 'filtered' your Magic?" she questioned.

"It felt like trying to break a wet soap bar in half and it keeps slipping out of my grasp."

"And how did you control it?" she pressed.

"It… I grabbed as much as I could and pushed it out of my wand."

Professor McGonagall seemed as if she wanted to wring my neck.

"You were _supposed_ ," she stressed the last word, "to imagine what you wanted and release _all your Magic steadily_ out of your wand. Clearly, you were not paying attention. Try again," she demanded.

I focused intently on the flow of my Magic, pushing it out slowly, and conjured an image of a needle. Eleanor and I gaped.

Lying innocently in front of me, was a needle in all of its silver and pointy glory. Professor McGonagall even looked, dare I say it, smug about what I just accomplished. The feeling of accomplishment was rather short lived, however, as Eleanor pointed out, "your needle does not have a hole. You forgot the eye." I groaned at this.

At the end of the lesson, only Adeline and some other Ravenclaw managed to transfigure a perfect needle.

* * *

It was while making my way to the Hufflepuff common room a week later when I encountered the Weasley twins for the first time since arriving at Hogwarts. They ambushed me and one of them slung an arm around my shoulder while the other smiled at me with a glint in his eyes.

"Hey Forge," the boy blocking my way said.

"Yeah, Gred?" the burden resting on my shoulders replied.

"I think it's time we take up on this little lady's offer!"

"You read my mind, Gred!"

When George's arm refused to move, I slumped slightly and said exasperatedly, "what do you want?"

"So glad you asked, little lady! Today, we will be giving a certain sneaky rat a taste of his own medicine! I absolutely cannot wait to see the look on his face! It will be priceless! Magnificent! Marvelous!" Fred crowed.

"What do you say, little lady? Not that you have much of a choice, I mean," George sniggered.

"Drop the 'little lady' and I will join you willingly instead of screaming bloody murder." I finally shoved George away from me.

"Deal!"

Heart hammering against my ribcage, I cursed my stupidity. Why, oh why had I agreed to this again?

"This way!" Fred whispered, dragging me into a small corner with George close behind.

A sparkling and colourful Filch cursed angrily with his eyes darting everywhere for a sign of us. It was hard to miss him even though it was rather dark due to the neon colours splashed across his clothes, hair and face. Not to mention how shiny he is.

After Filch had stomped away, I commented, "Thanks to us, he's a great _catch_ ," cracking us up.

"Not that he would ever know it was us, you mean. Such a shame… it was my finest creation." Fred hung his head dramatically.

We looked around cautiously before slipping out of our hiding place, incase he was still around. When Filch didn't reappear, we heaved a sigh of relief. That is, I sighed in relief while the twins fistbumped triumphantly.

We turned into another corridor while on the topic of Quidditch, our voices bouncing off the walls. Truth to be told, ever since the flying lessons with Madam Hooch, I had been planning on joining the Quidditch team, especially since Draco was in it. The twins were just explaining the rules of Quidditch and other interesting tidbits.

Then, I saw it. I paused in my tracks and stared in horror, clenching the twins' robes in my hands and stopping them.

"Mrs Norris…" I choked out. Fred and George paled.

Written in red( _it's not blood, it's not blood_ ) was a warning.

' _The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir... **beware**_.'

Poor Mrs Norris… she was just an extra emoticon.

Shouts drew our attention to the opposite of the corridor.

"I told you, I heard something! It came from here!" A harried 'Golden Trio' stumbled into the scene.

"Wha…" Ronaldo trailed off.

"Mrs Norris!" Hermione cried out. "What happened?"

As if they finally noticed us, Harry echoed Hermione's words. "What happened here? What is the Chamber of Secrets?"

As I opened my mouth to answer them, I heard more footsteps. _Ah, it has begun_ , I thought.

"Enemies of the heir, beware!" my brother cackled gleefully. "All you mudbloods better watch out!" he sneered. Then he noticed me.

"Drinah? What in Merlin's Beard are you doing here? Why were you not at the Great Hall?" He frowned and took in my appearance. Then he saw my companions and frowned even deeper. "What are you doing with _them_?" he spat, glaring at Fred and George who were flanked beside me.

I was saved from having to answer when Filch appeared. Distractedly, I noticed he had managed to clean off the worst of our prank. "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" he bellowed.

Students jumped and backed away from Filch, allowing him to see Mrs Norris' frozen state. His eyes bulged and his face turned a dangerous shade of purple.

"WHO- WHO DID THIS?! My poor Mrs Norris… OWN UP!" his eyes roamed crazily, taking in everyone present. Then he noticed Harry Potter and company.

He snarled and pointed a gnarled finger at them, or more specifically, Harry. "You… you did this! I'll kill you! I'LL KILL YOU!" he roared. Before he could commit murder, Dumbledore and his lackeys strode forward.

Dumbledore clasped Filch's shoulders firmly. "That is enough, Argus. Bring Mrs Norris to Madam Pomfrey. We will sort this out."

Filch conceded after seeing the stern warning in Dumbledore's eyes and, casting one last murderous gaze at Harry, he hurried off while cradling Mrs Norris' stiff body against his chest. Turning his cool gaze onto the students, Dumbledore demanded we return to our dormitories at once. The students left reluctantly while I rushed off as fast as possible with a goal in mind.

 _This… this should have never happened. It wasn't supposed to!_

* * *

 _'It has to be here, it has to be here._ ' I chanted this sentence in my mind like a mantra. I had dashed to my room and immediately started tearing it apart, looking for the book that started everything. The book that should have done nothing.

Cursing the dust for my watery eyes( _it is the dust. I'm not crying… I didn't fail_ ), I sifted through my belongings, double and triple checking everywhere. I know I placed it under my mattress. I don't leave something like that lying around in plain view; it's too dangerous.

"Bloody book!" I growled in frustration, "I should have burned you while I could!"

I tripped on something and landed with a 'thump'.

I lied sprawled across the floor for some time.

" _Th-this can't be ha-happening…_ " I whispered, ignoring the cracks in my voice.

I had one job.

And I failed.

"How pathetic is that? I'm a Malfoy, and failure is not an option. So how did I fail so badly at such a small task?" I laughed at myself. " _Silly me_ , how can I think of saving anybody, if I couldn't even keep that _one bloody book_ to myself?"

I felt tremors of footsteps coming in my direction and I hastily wiped away any tears and rushed to clean up the mess I made.

I groaned to myself. 'Mess' is the understatement of the century.

When my roommates entered the room, they found me burrowed underneath my blankets with the curtains around my bedpost drawn shut.

They left me alone, which I was thankful for. Yet, I couldn't ignore the disappointment and sadness welling up inside me, and the guilt eating me whole for the person who fell into the hands of Voldemort.

Because really, it was all my fault.

But I intend to fix this. I'm a Malfoy and I may be prideful at times, but I will fix this. Malfoy's don't cry over spilled milk and give up just like that.

I'm determined to find that blasted notebook and when I do, it'll get a piece of me.

...Not literally, though. I am not keen on having my soul eaten up.

* * *

 **A/N: ARE YA'LL HAPPY? I UPDATED! :D AND I HIT 5k WORDS! I know, I know, it's really little. But meh.**

 **Okay, I know a lot of you don't read A/N's but I just want to say that I may take a long time to update, especially with exams around the corner. After exams, I'm probably gonna slave away like you want me to. And I have this awesome idea(more like three) but it's not gonna be revealed just yet. It's also an SI coz I'm crazy bout that. Hopefully ya'll will look out for it! It's my greatest idea evah! Unfortunately or fortunately, depends, it's probably gonna be an OC x Tom Riddle fic but that's all I'll reveal. In fact, I'm going to start on it right now.**


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